Sacked By Amma, Promoted By Sasikala: Dinakaran Returns to AIADMK

Dinakaran’s elevation to proxy chief of AIADMK came minutes after he was re-inducted into the party.

As Sasikala faces the possibility of jail time, her move to re-induct her relatives into the AIADMK fold proves that she trusts her family above all else. (Photo: The Quint)

Hours ahead of her imminent departure to prison, Sasikala put her house in order and named a ‘Deputy General Secretary’ for the AIADMK. The man she chose was TTV Dinakaran, a former MP, and more importantly, her nephew.

Dinakaran’s elevation to proxy chief of the party in Sasikala’s absence came minutes after he was re-inducted into the party. He was among the members of Sasikala’s family who were expelled by late Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in 2011. While Sasikala came back into Amma’s fold in 2012, Jayalalithaa did not extend the invitation to the rest of the family.

Along with Dinakaran, another member of Sasikala’s family – her nephew Dr S Venkatesh – has also been re-inducted into the party after his 2011 expulsion.

Dinakaran has been the one man who has been prominently photographed along with Sasikala in the last week. When Sasikala met Governor Vidyasagar Rao on February 9, Dinakaran was with her, wearing his pale Safari suit and glasses.

(Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

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After Sasikala’s conviction, when Edappadi Palanisamy went to stake his claim with the Governor, Dinakaran accompanied him too.

Dinakaran was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1999, and was a member of Rajya Sabha between 2004 and 2010. He is also the brother of Sudhakaran, Jayalalithaa’s foster son.

The TTV brothers – Dinakaran, Sudhakaran and Bhaskaran – are based out of Theni and take care of operations in south Tamil Nadu. The TTV brothers were born to Sasikala’s sister Vanithamani. Sudhakaran is the son who was adopted, and later disowned, by Jayalalithaa, whose lavish wedding in 1995 created a major furore.

TTV Dinakaran. (Photo Courtesy: The News Minute)

Dinakaran has been found guilty of money laundering and benami transactions in a 1996 case. In January, the Madras High Court confirmed a penalty of Rs 25 crore imposed on him by the Directorate of Enforcement. The ED had booked him under FERA after huge sums of money were deposited into his bank account between the years 1991-1996, coinciding with Jayalalithaa’s first term as CM.

Like his aunt, Dinakaran too has other FERA cases pending before court. The ED had in 2015 moved Madras High Court not only to challenge Sasikala’s discharge in FERA cases, but also that of Dinakaran in two cases.

Dinakaran is perhaps the only family-aide of Sasikala with some formal political experience. Ever since the power tussle began in Tamil Nadu last week, Dinakaran has been by his aunt’s side constantly. He has been guiding Sasikala through this political crisis, and is believed to be the force behind her in her every move. He was always in the car right behind her whenever her convoy went anywhere – her shadow, almost.

For the people of Tamil Nadu, who are willing to forgive Jayalalithaa for her corruption by pinning the blame on Sasikala, the fact that she’s bringing her family in is not going to go down too well. There is a lot of fear that Sasikala’s family – the Mannargudi clan – will further spread their tentacles in Tamil Nadu.

For many of the MLAs of AIADMK meanwhile, the fact that Dinakaran has now been elevated and the family is gaining ground in the party might be reason enough to switch to the OPS camp.

By entrusting the party to Dinakaran in her absence, by creating the post of ‘Deputy General Secretary’, Sasikala has ensured that she will still remain in control of AIADMK, and that she will still remain the General Secretary of the party, and the puppet master from prison.

While she has constantly talked of how every party cadre is important, and how every decision in the AIADMK is taken for the sake of the cadre, Sasikala has proved that, for her, blood really is thicker than water.